In the style of Homes and Libraries of the Presidents,William Clotworthy—the leading authority on sites that honor these leaders—brings us yet another historical guidebook—this time focusing on sites that commemorate and interpret the First Ladies of the United States. The lives of our nation’s First Ladies have never been of more public interest. Watching our modern First Ladies, such as the ground-breaking career of Hillary Clinton—from her rise as First Lady of Arkansas to America’s First Lady, then U.S. Senator, the first modern woman presidential campaigner, and now as U.S. Secretary of State—is remarkable and intriguing. Other First Ladies led interesting and rewarding lives as well, each in their own unique ways—such as Dolley Madison, Eleanor Roosevelt, Rosalynn Carter, and Betty Ford—and there is no better way to understand each First Lady’s life than to visit her former home or museum. Homes of the First Ladies: A Guide to Publicly Accessible Homes, Museums, and Related Sites contains three sections. Section one provides historical and geographical context for the First Ladies, including an assessment of the changing role of First Ladies and a map showing the distribution of sites described in the book. Section two—the most extensive part of the book—presents short anecdotal biographies of each First Lady, followed by a description of the relevant home and/or museum sites. Contact information, hours of operation, and driving directions, including maps, are also provided for each site. For most entries, sources of additional information are provided. Fifty-eight sites are included in the book. Section three provides additional information related to the theme of the book, including a list of burial sites of the First Ladies. End notes, a bibliography, and index complete the book. Homes of the First Ladies is the only book that systematically identifies and describes sites associated with these public women, and will serve as a guidebook for anyone interested in knowing more about their lives, interests and achievements, children, and the places they called home.
After spending 42 years in the advertising end of the television broadcasting industry, where he worked with such television icons as Groucho Marx, Johnny Carson, and Milton Berle, and spending twelve years as censor for "Saturday Night Live" –William Clotworthy retired and began to travel, to lecture, and to write. Now he turns his attention to identifying and describing sites commemorating American presidents. He is a recognized authority on presidential sites, authoring two other books on the American presidential heritage, Presidential Sites: A Directory of Places associated with Presidents of the United States, and Homes and Libraries of the Presidents (now in its third edition, revised), In the Footsteps of George Washington: A Guide to Sites Commemorating the First President, and his most recent title, Homes of the First Ladies: A Guide to Publicly Accessible Homes, Museums, and Related Sites. Mr. Clotworthy previously taught a class on George Washington at the College for Seniors at the University of North Carolina, Asheville, and has been named an "Ageless Hero of North Carolina" in recognition of his life-long pursuit of knowledge.
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